Post by peatmoss on Jan 24, 2017 11:22:31 GMT -5
I'm back (and so are the Collembola) with new equipment!
I picked up the impressive Laowa 60mm 2:1 macro lens as a replacement for my hodgepodge of reverse mounted lenses. It's an absolutely fantastic piece of glass, although it has a rather short (~11cm) working distance, and the magnification is still a bit low for my tastes, it has completely eliminated the issues I was having with chromatic aberration and glare, which is wonderful.
The first species I was able to test it out on (with a homemade diffuser I built out of a Cheerio box), was a small winter active springtail ID'd as Desoria canadensis by Frans Janssens - I was surprised to find more of these active on the surface of the snow at Mer Bleu Bog than the more often seen Hypogastrura that crowd the surface of the snow on warm days.
Springtail - Desoria canadensis by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
I was able to get out this weekend on a warm (5°C) day to look for more springtail, and was pleased to find a few interesting species under a railroad tie on the periphery of a parking lot:
These blind springtails (Onychiuroidea) were very active despite the cooler temperatures, and I was pleased to see this family in the wild for the first time:
Onychiuroidea (?) - Blind Springtail by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
A very small (0.5mm) springtail, probably in the genus Willowsia that was intent on having me test the limits of my macro rig:
Entomobryidae - Slender Springtail by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
And another slender springtail that was having a bit of a bad hair day:
Entomobryidae - Slender Springtail by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
My favourite species to encounter in the winter is the snowflea (Hypogastrura nivicola), which is easily found in large aggregations on the ground or on the bark of trees:
Hypogastrura nivicola - Snowfleas feeding by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
This is a rather large and slow moving species (2-3mm), so it makes a fantastic subject for photographs:
Hypogastrura nivicola - Snowflea by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
Hypogastrura nivicola by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
That's all I have for now - it's still rather difficult to find insects in winter, but I'm hoping for more warm days to take advantage of!
I picked up the impressive Laowa 60mm 2:1 macro lens as a replacement for my hodgepodge of reverse mounted lenses. It's an absolutely fantastic piece of glass, although it has a rather short (~11cm) working distance, and the magnification is still a bit low for my tastes, it has completely eliminated the issues I was having with chromatic aberration and glare, which is wonderful.
The first species I was able to test it out on (with a homemade diffuser I built out of a Cheerio box), was a small winter active springtail ID'd as Desoria canadensis by Frans Janssens - I was surprised to find more of these active on the surface of the snow at Mer Bleu Bog than the more often seen Hypogastrura that crowd the surface of the snow on warm days.
Springtail - Desoria canadensis by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
I was able to get out this weekend on a warm (5°C) day to look for more springtail, and was pleased to find a few interesting species under a railroad tie on the periphery of a parking lot:
These blind springtails (Onychiuroidea) were very active despite the cooler temperatures, and I was pleased to see this family in the wild for the first time:
Onychiuroidea (?) - Blind Springtail by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
A very small (0.5mm) springtail, probably in the genus Willowsia that was intent on having me test the limits of my macro rig:
Entomobryidae - Slender Springtail by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
And another slender springtail that was having a bit of a bad hair day:
Entomobryidae - Slender Springtail by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
My favourite species to encounter in the winter is the snowflea (Hypogastrura nivicola), which is easily found in large aggregations on the ground or on the bark of trees:
Hypogastrura nivicola - Snowfleas feeding by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
This is a rather large and slow moving species (2-3mm), so it makes a fantastic subject for photographs:
Hypogastrura nivicola - Snowflea by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
Hypogastrura nivicola by Gabriel Levac, on Flickr
That's all I have for now - it's still rather difficult to find insects in winter, but I'm hoping for more warm days to take advantage of!